I learned a valuable lesson this morning. When in Gbarnga, go to bed early. Why? Because the rooster does not care that you stayed up late. Your alarm is set for 5:15am, no matter what time you actually need to get up. Yep, that’s what I learned this morning. The rooster, his chicken and their baby chicks live here on the property, so I am writing this post as quickly as possible because my rooster-free sleep hours are quickly dwindling.

Today was an awesome day. It started with a cold shower. Remember, there is no hot water. I would say it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be but hogwash – it was worse! It took me forever to point the shower hose as my body, but eventually I did and got clean.

After a quick 20 minute high speed adventure to the hospital, I met the 23 new students I would be teaching. A mix of Registered Nurses and Physicians’ Assistants, they were primed and ready to learn. It was a morning packed with information, and they seemed to be taking all of it in. One of my students from Cohort 5, Caroline, is here as a co-facilitator. We discussed which parts of the class she would teach today and she was phenomenal!! I felt like a proud mother watching her teach the information she was just learning 6 months ago. When my nose started bleeding (oh, I brought a cold with me from the US and have had constant runny nose. Blowing nose + Heat = nosebleed), she picked right up and kept teaching while I went to get things under control. It was great.

We arrived home about 5pm. Sat in the yard with our housekeeper and security guards shooting the breeze and eating dinner for about two hours. Went to the pharmacy, bought some cold medicine (small, white unmarked pills in a Ziploc bag – that will be interesting at airport security), did some work, and voila, the day is done.

About Me

A well-respected physician and educator Dr. Harrison is the Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of Eleanor Health, a value-based provider of comprehensive outpatient addiction treatment. Approachable and energetic, she has been known to explain medical concepts with an ease and humor that results in her audiences developing understanding of difficult material while having a good time doing it! She has written and presented several articles and workshops on the medical aspects of addiction and other psychiatric disorders. She is available for media appearances, supervision and medical consultation and to answer any questions you may have about addictive or other psychiatric disorders.